General Appearance

The German Wirehaired
Pointer is a well muscled, medium sized dog of
distinctive appearance. Balanced in size and
sturdily built, the breed’s most distinguishing
characteristics are its weather resistant,
wire-like coat and its facial furnishings.
Typically Pointer in character and style, the
German Wirehaired Pointer is an intelligent,
energetic and determined hunter.

Size, Proportion, Substance

The height of males
should be from 24 to 26 inches at the withers.
Bitches are smaller but not under 22 inches. To
insure the working quality of the breed is
maintained, dogs that are either over or under
the specified height must be severely penalized.
The body is a little longer than it is high, as
ten is to nine. The German Wirehaired Pointer is
a versatile hunter built for agility and
endurance in the field. Correct size and balance
are essential to high performance.

Head

The head is
moderately long. Eyes are brown, medium in size,
oval in contour, bright and clear and overhung
with medium length eyebrows. Yellow eyes are not
desirable. The ears are rounded but not too
broad and hang close to the head. The skull
broad and the occipital bone not too prominent.
The stop is medium. The muzzle is fairly long
with nasal bone straight, broad and parallel to
the top of the skull. The nose is dark brown
with nostrils wide open. A spotted or flesh
colored nose is to be penalized. The lips are a
trifle pendulous but close to the jaw and
bearded. The jaws are strong with a full
complement of evenly set and properly
intermeshing teeth. The incisors meet in a true
scissors bite.

Neck, Topline, Body

The neck is of medium
length, slightly arched and devoid of dewlap.
The entire back line showing a perceptible slope
down from withers to croup. The skin throughout
is notably tight to the body. The chest is deep
and capacious with ribs well sprung. The tuck-up
apparent. The back is short, straight and
strong. Loins are taut and slender. Hips are
broad with the croup nicely rounded. The tail is
set high, carried at or above the horizontal
when the dog is alert. The tail is docked to
approximately two-fifths of its original length.

Forequarters

The shoulders are
well laid back. The forelegs are straight with
elbows close. Leg bones are flat rather than
round, and strong, but not so heavy or coarse as
to militate against the dog’s natural agility.
Dewclaws are generally removed. Round in outline
the feet are webbed, high arched with toes
close, pads thick and hard, and nails strong and
quite heavy.

Hindquarters

The angles of the
hindquarters balances that of the forequarters.
A straight line drawn vertically from the
buttock (ischium) to the ground should land just
in front of the rear foot. The thighs are strong
and muscular. The hind legs are parallel when
viewed from the rear. The hocks (metatarsus) are
short, straight and parallel turning neither in
nor out. Dewclaws are generally removed. Feet as
in forequarters.

Coat

The functional wiry
coat is the breed’s most distinctive feature. A
dog must have a correct coat to be of correct
type. The coat is weather resistant and, to some
extent, water-repellent. The undercoat is dense
enough in winter to insulate against the cold
but is so thin in summer as to be almost
invisible. The distinctive outer coat is
straight, harsh, wiry and flat lying, and is
from one to two inches in length. The outer coat
is long enough to protect against the punishment
of rough cover, but not so long as to hide the
outline of the dog. On the lower legs the coat
is shorter and between the toes it is of softer
texture. On the skull the coat is naturally
short and close fitting. Over the shoulders and
around the tail it is very dense and heavy. The
tail is nicely coated, particularly on the
underside, but devoid of feather. Eyebrows are
of strong, straight hair. Beard and whiskers are
medium length. The hairs in the liver patches of
a liver and white dog may be shorter than the
white hairs. A short smooth coat, a soft woolly
coat, or an excessively long coat is to be
severely penalized. While maintaining a harsh,
wiry texture, the puppy coat may be shorter than
that of an adult coat. Coats may be neatly
groomed to present a dog natural in appearance.
Extreme and excessive grooming to present a dog
artificial in appearance should be severely
penalized.

Color

The coat is liver and
white, usually either liver and white spotted,
liver roan, liver and white spotted with ticking
and roaning or solid liver. The head is liver,
sometimes with a white blaze. The ears are
liver. Any black in the coat is to be severely
penalized.

Gait

The dog should be
evaluated at a moderate gait. Seen from the
side, the movement is free and smooth with good
reach in the forequarters and good driving power
in the hindquarters. The dog carries a firm back
and exhibits a long, ground-covering stride.
When moving in a straight line the legs swing
forward in a free and easy manner and show no
tendency to cross or interfere. There should be
no signs of elbowing out. The rear legs follow
on a line with the forelegs. As speed increases,
the legs will converge toward a center line of
travel.

Temperament

Of sound, reliable
temperament, the German Wirehaired Pointer is at
times aloof but not unfriendly toward strangers;
a loyal and affectionate companion who is eager
to please and enthusiastic to learn.